Reading West MP, Martin Salter, who is also Labour’s Vice Chair for the Environment, today (11 Nov 08) joined a delegation of Labour MPs to 10 Downing St to urge the Prime Minister to drop plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. Mr. Salter, who used to work as a cargo handler and union shop steward at the airport, is one of over 140 MPs who have signed a Commons Motion calling for a rethink on the runway and highlighting the potential increases in noise, pollution, and carbon dioxide emissions that would occur.

Martin Salter MP said:

“I told Gordon Brown that the case for a third runway at this time is flawed for three reasons. Firstly, the public transport access to Heathrow, particularly from the west, is extremely poor and needs sorting out before any increase in capacity takes place. The roads around the airport are already gridlocked so goodness knows what the traffic congestion would be like if even more flights were to be taken from Heathrow without first improving the transport infrastructure.”

“Secondly, there should be a full review on the number of short haul flights taken from Heathrow in order to free up long haul slots and business flights which are far more important for the economy. I want to see a better rather then a bigger Heathrow. Thirdly, I am very worried about the effect on the environment of increasing flights by another 150,000 a year. We have just passed the world’s first legally binding Climate Change Bill and there is a real danger that our excellent work to cut the carbon emissions which are causing potentially catastrophic climate change could be undone by this one single decision. In 2003, the government’s Aviation White Paper made it clear that the third runway would only be built if local air quality standards are met and noise limits are not exceeded. We now know that both these standards will be breached and that the UK is currently seeking a derogation from the European Commission from the 2015 Air Quality Directive. This is not a comfortable place to be for a government that has given such a priority to the principles of environmental sustainability. I pressed Gordon Brown not to go ahead with the third runway unless and until the environmental criteria can be met.”